Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: 4 impact decisions affecting state of Michigan schools for 2022-23

By Ryan Kay

Ypsi Prep forward Emoni Bates (21) celebrates a play against SPIRE Academy during the second half at Central Academy in Ann Arbor, Saturday, March 13, 2021.
Ypsi Prep forward Emoni Bates (21) celebrates a play against SPIRE Academy during the second half at Central Academy in Ann Arbor, Saturday, March 13, 2021. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Tray Maddox Jr. Oakland Golden Grizzlies NCAA Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Tray Maddox Jr. Oakland Golden Grizzlies NCAA Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

. player. 500. . . . Tray Maddox Jr.

Maddox played his high school basketball at Novi High School in Metro Detroit where he also started as a wide receiver and defensive back and received multiple division one football scholarship offers. He decided not to pursue a collegiate football career and chose to begin playing collegiate basketball nearby Oakland University. Maddox played two seasons for Kampe and Oakland were started all but two games he played in during his second season as a member of the Golden Grizzlies.

Then he chose to enter the transfer portal and attend Cal State Fullerton out west. For the Titans in his first season there, he started in all but one game and was named to the All-Big West Second Team as well as being the leading scorer for Cal State Fullerton that season. However, in his second season as a Titan, his role changed.

In his fourth season collegiately, he only started in nine games out of the 30 games he played in and averaged 6.4 fewer points a game than he did the season prior. However, he did play an integral role in helping the Titans capture the Big West Conference Tournament title and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 for Cal State Fullerton. After the season, Maddox decided to enter the transfer portal once again and similar to Watts, has to get approved to play this upcoming season due to already using his one-time transfer exception.

Maddox could have stayed on the West Coast and transferred to another school in California for example or he could have played at a power five conference school but he didn’t. He decided to come back home to the state of Michigan and play for newly named head coach Dwayne Stephens.

Stephens a long-time assistant coach at Michigan State, became the new head coach at Western Michigan this past spring. He made Maddox a priority and convinced him to come back to the state of Michigan and join the Bronco program in Kalamazoo. Maddox awaits to see if he is granted immediate eligibility and if he is, Western Michigan can contend for a Mid-American Conference title this upcoming season as Maddox would give the Broncos a big boost on both ends of the floor.

Read more about Maddox’s story here: In-Depth Look

Home/NCAA Basketball News